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Braves to build stadium that opens in 2017

BRAVES BUILDING NEW: Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Freddy Garcia throws in the first inning of Game 4 in the National League division baseball series against the Los Angeles Dodgers,l Monday, Oct. 7, in Los Angeles. Photo: Associated Press/Danny Moloshok

GEORGE HENRY, Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves are leaving Turner Field and moving into a new 42,000-seat, $672 million stadium complex in Cobb County in 2017.

Braves executives John Schuerholz, Mike Plant and Derek Schiller said Monday that the team decided not to seek another 20-year lease at Turner Field and began talks with the Cobb Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority in July.

The infrastructure at Turner Field was originally built for the 1996 Summer Olympics before being converted to a baseball park that opened in 1997.

The stadium will be part of a 60-acre development near Cobb Galleria mall.

Plant says talks broke down with the Atlanta Fulton County Recreational Authority earlier this year. He adds that the team has not signed a contract with Cobb County, but he’s “100 percent certain it will happen.”

Schiller says financing will come from the Braves and the Cobb County government. The team will be responsible for any cost overruns.